Scott Weiland Says He Was Surprised and Hurt By STP Performance Without Him

Scott Weiland has spoken. Nearly a week after his bandmates in Stone Temple Pilots took the stage for a surprise appearance at KROQ's 21st Annual Wennie Roast with a surprise new singer — Linkin Parks' Chester Bennington — the band's apparent former frontman has issued a statement.

"Like everybody else out there, I read about my band, Stone Temple Pilots, and their recent performance this past weekend with a new singer. To tell you the truth, it took me by surprise. And it hurt," Weiland writes. "But the band that played last weekend was not Stone Temple Pilots and it was wrong of them to present themselves as that."

Weiland goes on to write, "they don't have the legal right to call themselves STP because I'm still a member of the band." He adds it's "misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years."

The singer, who is currently playing with his side project, Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts, performing music from STP's first two albums on his Purple at the Core tour, points out that he never has billed his solo performances at Stone Temple Pilots, adding, "The fans deserve to know what they're getting."

He goes on to state, "STP had a special alchemy — the four of us together were greater than any one of us apart. So if my former bandmates want to tour with a new singer, that's their prerogative.

"I don't give a f--k what they call themselves, but it's not Stone Temple Pilots."

Yet just as it seemed as if Weiland has accepted his fate, referring to his "former bandmates," he ends the letter on a positive note, writing, "But don't give up on STP. I know I haven't." Stay tuned.